A pod of about 70 dolphins entertained a small gathering of people Tuesday afternoon.
The pod was first spotted in the waters off Squamish just after 3 p.m. and by 4 p.m. they had moved south back down Howe Sound. Blair Hunt was walking his dog at Nexen Beach when he noticed an unusual amount of splashing out in the waters of the fjord.
“I’ve been watching them for a little more than half an hour,” said Hunt.
He described how the pod crossed back and forth across the top of Howe Sound a number of times. To Hunt it looked like they were working strategically as a team to hunt fish.
The pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins plied through the chilly water, gracefully jumping out and quietly slipping back into the dark Howe Sound water.
According to the Vancouver Aquarium, the north Pacific is home to 900,000 Pacific white-sided dolphins. They feed on herring, capelin, sardines, squid, anchovies, rockfish, Pollock, hake and salmon. Only orcas and sharks pose a threat to the dolphins. The last time a pod of dolphins visited Squamish was March 15. The dolphin pod was followed by Orcas. The animals drew a large crowd to Nexen Beach and the Mamquam Blind Channel as the dolphins tried to avoid the whales.
